Friday, January 19
Ypsilanti, Mich. / Gervin GameAbove Center
6 p.m.
Central Michigan University
195.825
at
194.500
Eastern Michigan
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Gymnastics Posts First Conference Win at Eastern Michigan
1/19/2024 9:53:00 PM | Gymnastics
Chippewas score season-best 195.825 to claim victory in first conference dual of season; Bustelo makes season debut
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Central Michigan Gymnastics kicked off its Mid-American Conference schedule with a bang on Friday as the Chippewas defeated Eastern Michigan, 195.825-193.625, at the George Gervin GameAbove Center for their first head-to-head and league victory of the young season.
The impressive performance, in which it won each individual event, saw CMU top its score from the previous meet (194.000) by nearly two points, and was the Chippewas' best scoring mark of the season.
"We came back hungry from our last competition and really put the work into the gym last week," Head Coach Christine MacDonald said. "We had a lot of highlights throughout the meet, but I think our performance on bars really set the tone for the day."
CMU's lineup received helpful reinforcements on Friday as senior Adriana Bustelo made her season debut, contributing to the Chippewas' mark of 49.000 on uneven parallel bars to open the meet with a score of 9.775. She also earned a score of 9.700 on beam.
Joining Bustelo with impressive scores on the bars were sophomore Luciana Alvarado-Reid and junior Lia Kmieciak, who shared the win in the event with a score of 9.850 each. Also scoring well was freshman Samantha Shannon, who registered a 9.800 in the event.
Shannon is among the underclassmen on this roster who are seeing consistent action early in the season. MacDonald has been impressed with the growth she continues to see out of her younger competitors.
"The last two meets, we've definitely had a lot of learning moments and I think they really took those to heart," she said. "(Freshman) Jenna Germond had a PR today on vault. Again, the work in the gym this week really transferred into the meet which was nice to see. We're just starting to see the consistency show up that we've been seeing in the gym and applying it to those meet day situations. We are having continued growth from a lot of those individuals that are in lineup at the moment."
CMU followed its hot start on bars with an equally impressive performance on vault, again scoring 49.000 for the rotation. In addition to Germond's career-best score of 9.850 and a share of the event win, the Chippewas shared the second-ranked score as a trio of them - Alvarado-Reid, Kmieciak and senior Elizabeth Cesarone - scored 9.800 apiece.
CMU would go on to claim the win in its next event, as senior Hallie Hornbacher and Alvarado-Reid shared the win with a score of 9.850 each. Following closely behind them was graduate student Ashley Veglucci with a 9.825.
"It definitely gives us a sense of confidence knowing that we can continue to build off of where we're at," MacDonald said of her floor lineup. "We did not hit our peak tonight. And there's a lot of room for growth. But again, it was a consistent and solid performance from start to finish."
The Chippewas closed their night out on beam. Alvarado-Reid and Cesarone tied for CMU's best mark in the event with 9.825. Following closely behind were junior Quinn Skrupa (9.800) and freshman Karina Lankamer (9.775).
Alvarado-Reid was the only gymnast to compete in all four events, owning an all-around score of 39.325.
Next up on their schedule is a quad meet hosted by Northern Illinois next Sunday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. ET. Also competing are Eastern Michigan, which the Chippewas will compete against nonleague, and Gustavus Adolphus College.
The impressive performance, in which it won each individual event, saw CMU top its score from the previous meet (194.000) by nearly two points, and was the Chippewas' best scoring mark of the season.
"We came back hungry from our last competition and really put the work into the gym last week," Head Coach Christine MacDonald said. "We had a lot of highlights throughout the meet, but I think our performance on bars really set the tone for the day."
CMU's lineup received helpful reinforcements on Friday as senior Adriana Bustelo made her season debut, contributing to the Chippewas' mark of 49.000 on uneven parallel bars to open the meet with a score of 9.775. She also earned a score of 9.700 on beam.
Joining Bustelo with impressive scores on the bars were sophomore Luciana Alvarado-Reid and junior Lia Kmieciak, who shared the win in the event with a score of 9.850 each. Also scoring well was freshman Samantha Shannon, who registered a 9.800 in the event.
Shannon is among the underclassmen on this roster who are seeing consistent action early in the season. MacDonald has been impressed with the growth she continues to see out of her younger competitors.
"The last two meets, we've definitely had a lot of learning moments and I think they really took those to heart," she said. "(Freshman) Jenna Germond had a PR today on vault. Again, the work in the gym this week really transferred into the meet which was nice to see. We're just starting to see the consistency show up that we've been seeing in the gym and applying it to those meet day situations. We are having continued growth from a lot of those individuals that are in lineup at the moment."
CMU followed its hot start on bars with an equally impressive performance on vault, again scoring 49.000 for the rotation. In addition to Germond's career-best score of 9.850 and a share of the event win, the Chippewas shared the second-ranked score as a trio of them - Alvarado-Reid, Kmieciak and senior Elizabeth Cesarone - scored 9.800 apiece.
CMU would go on to claim the win in its next event, as senior Hallie Hornbacher and Alvarado-Reid shared the win with a score of 9.850 each. Following closely behind them was graduate student Ashley Veglucci with a 9.825.
"It definitely gives us a sense of confidence knowing that we can continue to build off of where we're at," MacDonald said of her floor lineup. "We did not hit our peak tonight. And there's a lot of room for growth. But again, it was a consistent and solid performance from start to finish."
The Chippewas closed their night out on beam. Alvarado-Reid and Cesarone tied for CMU's best mark in the event with 9.825. Following closely behind were junior Quinn Skrupa (9.800) and freshman Karina Lankamer (9.775).
Alvarado-Reid was the only gymnast to compete in all four events, owning an all-around score of 39.325.
Next up on their schedule is a quad meet hosted by Northern Illinois next Sunday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. ET. Also competing are Eastern Michigan, which the Chippewas will compete against nonleague, and Gustavus Adolphus College.
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